Safety harness



C. W. ROSE SAFETY HARNESS Jan. 11,, 1955 Filed June 21, 1952 Fig. 2

JIVVENTOR. GLAREWGE W1 RUSH WHITEHEAD @1 VOQL ATTORNEYS United States Patent SAFETY HARNESS Clarence W. Rose, Denver, Colo.

Application June 21, 1952, Serial No. 294,794

2 Claims. (Cl. 227-49) This invention relates to safety harnesses and, more particularly, to a safety harness which combines a chest band with a waistband, an object of the invention being to provide a safety harness which shall combine the dcsirable features and eliminate the undesirable features of waistband belts and chest band belts.

Other objects of this invention are to include a safety harness which combines a chest band with a waistband; (a) means, interconnecting the two bands, which, under normal conditions, permit the bands to be worn in their respectively proper positions, independently of each other, without one band interfering with or supporting the other during ordinary movements of a wearer, but which will bring the bands into cooperation, automatically, responsive to the displacement of the bands from their normal relative positions resulting from a fall of the wearer; (b) a construction which permits the chest band to receive the primary and major impact in checking a fall of the wearer, and after the primary impact, employs the waistband to hold the chest band in engagement with the wearer and also to receive a minor portion of the impact; (0) a construction which avoids the principal danger of internal injuries which result from the use of simply a waistband as the means for checking a fall; (d) a construction which permits the chest band to receive the primary and major impact incurred in checking a fall of the wearer by engaging the chest and arms of the wearer, but prevents the disengagement of the chest band from the wearer even when the wearers arms are formed or moved upward and over his head; and (e) a simple and sturdy unit which may be worn comfortably by men of different sizes, which is foolproof in its use, and which is adapted for use wherever safety harness is needed.

With these and other objects in view, all of which more fully hereinafter appear, my invention comprises certain new and novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts and elements as hereinafter described, and as defined in the appended claims and illustrated, in preferred embodiment, in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of my improved safety harness with portions of one element broken away to show constructions otherwise hidden from view.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the harness, partly in section, to illustrate a preferable form of construction.

Figure 3 is a rear view of a part of a man Wearing the harness in its normal position.

Figure 4 is a view, on a reduced scale, of a man wearing the harness in a position he would assume upon the checking of his fall by the harness, with the chest band engaging his arms which have been raised or forced over his head.

According to present-day safety programs, it is customary and even mandatory that a lifeline of some sort be attached to a workman whenever he is in a precarious position, as upon a scaffold. Such a lifeline is usually attached to a safety belt strapped around the waist of the Workman. The band which forms this safety belt is often wide and is generally padded to avoid cutting into the abdomen whenever the workman falls. Nevertheless, a waistband can cause severe internal injuries from the impact of the hand against the torso of the wearer when a fall is checked thereby. One very dangerous injury occurs when a mans fall is checked by a waistband with the wearer in an upright position, for, in such case, the waistband forces the abdominal contents into 2,699,284 Patented Jan. '11, 1955 the chest cavity, causing intense pressure in or around the mans heart to an extent which frequently causes death, immediately or in a short time, or causes permanent injury. Where a man falls and his fall is checked by a waistband belt when he is in a prone or horizontal position, there is often a severe bending or arching of his back, in addition to intense pressure upon his abdomen, which can seriously injure him internally.

These obvious disadvantages of a waistband-type of safety belt have been generally recognized, but such a safety belt has heretofore been accepted and commonly used as having less disadvantages than any other type of safety belt heretofore devised. Other types of means to connect a man to a lifeline include straps which extend around a mans legs and under his crotch, such as a typical parachute harness. This is not satisfactory for a Workman because it is usually cumbersome and impractical to wear, during work, in the position and adjustment required to properly check a fall. When a man jumps out of an aeroplane, the fall is anticipated and he has time to make needed adjustments, but a workman falls accidentally and unexpectedly and has no time to make such adjustments.

Another type of belt which has been tried out comprises a band strapped around the chest. This type of belt is unsatisfactory because, if a mans fall is checked when he is limp, as when he is dazed or unconscious, the belt will force his arms over his head and the belt will slip over his arms and head and release the wearer from the belt. A harness loose enough to permit a reasonable chest expansion and freedom of movement of a mans arms will be so loose that, in case of a fall, he cannot be held within it except by a conscious holding of the arms downward.

With these factors in view, the present invention was conceived and developed and comprises a safety harness combining a waistband 10 and a chest band 11 interconnected by a connector strap 12, at the back of the harness, a D-ring 13 being provided for connection of the harness to a safety rope 14. The invention contemplates the arrangement of these elements in such a manner that the bands are normally worn as if independent and unconnected, but when brought into play in checking a fall they cooperate, the chest band 11 taking the primary and principal impact, and the waistband. 10 taking a minor portion of the impact and holding the man, and, through strap 12, the chest band 11 so that the man will not slip out of the harness oven though he may be dazed or unconscious.

Describing my invention in detail, the waistband 10 may be of any conventional type which will include a buckle 15 and suitable padding, or other appurtenances not shown. It is anticipated that this waistband will be. fastened around the waist of a man in the same manner that conventional waistbands are fastened.

The chest band 11 may be constructed of webbing or other material of the same character, and may be formed in the same manner, as the waistband. This chest band is connected at the front by a buckle 16 and it is adapted to be strapped around the chest of a man beneath his armpits. It must be worn comparatively loose to allow for proper chest expansion and freedom of movement of the wearer. This necessitates shoulder straps 17 to hold it at the proper height. These shoulder straps may be light weight bands with buckles 18 for adjusting their length and they may be attached to the chest band at the center of the back portion, and at each side of the front portion by suitable means as by the illustrated stitching.

The strap 12 interconnects the waist band and chest band at the back of the wearer. It is formed of suitable material such as strips of webbing which are doubly wrapped around the waist band and chest band and secured to these bands by any suitable means as by stitching 19. The top of the connector strap extends above the chest band and there provides a loop 20 Wherethrough the D-ring 13 is mounted for connection to the safety rope 14 as hereinbefore stated. The connector strap is made stronger than the chest band 11, for the positioning of the D-ring above the chest band will naturally cause the weight of a wearer to bear first upon the chest band whenever the harness is checking a fall of the wearer. Should an unusually severe shock break the chest band, the connector strap is still connected to the waist band and will thereby support the wearer.

The D-ring and the safety rope connector are free to swing back and forth and hence a shield 21 is provided and is preferably secured to the connector strap and to the chest band, as by stitching, to upstand from the chest band and shield the D-ring and safety rope connector from the wearer, as clearly shown in the drawing.

This construction has a two-fold purpose. It is essential that the chest band take the primary and major portion of the impact, in the checking of a fall, so operative connection between the safety rope and the Waistband must not be established until after the chest band has taken the primary impact. The slack in strap 12 provides for this. It is also important that the waistband be worn properly and snugly adjusted at all times. If the strap 12 were taut, the wearer would be apt to leave the waistband loose, for comfort, and depend on strap 12 for support of the waist band with the result that the waistband would not be properly adjusted in case of a fall. With slack in strap 12 the wearer must snugly and properly adjust the waistband in order to prevent its slipping down over his hips, with the result that the waistband is always properly adjusted and ready to function in the desired manner in case of a fall. In the manufacture 'of this harness, the strap 12 may have the same amount of slack in all harnesses regardless of whether the harness is to be worn by a short man or a tall man, because the distance between the chest and the waist in tall and short men differs so little that a sufficient amount of slack may be provided to compensate for such difference without allowing too much slack for the proper functioning of strap 12 in preventing the chest band slipping off over the head and raised arms of the wearer.

In operation of this harness, the bands and 11 are positioned upon a wearer with their buckles and 16 1n front and the connector strap 12 behind him. The life line 14 is connected to the D-ring 13, the waist band is tightened to a snug fit and the chest band is adjusted to just sufficient looseness to provide freedom of movement of the arms and proper chest expansion. The shoulder straps are adjusted to support the chest band beneath the arm pits of the wearer.

In checking a fall of the wearer, the restraining impact of the rope will be transmitted directly to the chest band and the chest band will take this first and most severe shock. Regardless of the position of the wearer at the instant his fall is checked, he will tend to rotate to an upright or nearly upright position, and he may hang from the chest band and be fairly comfortable until he is rescued. However, if the wearer is weak, dazed or unconscious, the chest band will tend to lift his arms and slip over his head. Such slipping W111 be checked by the connector strap 12 and the wearers weight will then be held by both the chest band and waist band. The usual position an unconscious, dazed or weakened man will assume in such circumstances, is shown at Fig. 4. The mans arms are illustrated as raised over his head as a result either of the pull of the chest band or of the mans conscious effort to protect his head. Such position of the arms is desirable especially when the fallen man is swinging at the end of the safety rope in the vicinity of a wall or other objects against which he migh bang, and injure his head were it not thus protecte While I have herein described and illustrated many details of construction of a preferred embodiment of my invention, alternate and equivalent arrangements and constructions, which are within the scope and spirit of my invention, will occur to those skilled in the art, and I wish my protection to be limited not by the herein illustrated and described arrangements and structures but only by the proper scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A safety harness including, in combination, a waistband adapted to be snugly secured about a wearers waist, a chestband adapted to be encirclingly secured about the wearers chest beneath the arm pits sufiiciently loosely to permit full chest expansion, shoulder straps adapted to support the chestband in said position, a strap interconnecting said bands at the back of the harness and of such length that it is slack with the bands in their normal positions but taut with the waistband in its normal position and the chest-band raised beyond the wearers armpits but not beyond his elbows with his arms raised above his head, and means to engage the harness with a safety rope at the back of the chestband.

2. A safety harness including, in combination, a waistband adapted to be snugly secured about a wearers waist, a chestband adapted to be held about a wearers chest beneath his armpits sufficiently loosely to permit full chest expansion, means for supporting the chestband in said position, strap means interconnecting the bands of such length that there is slack therein with the bands in their normal positions but no slack therein with the waistband in its normal position and the chestband raised beyond the armpits of the wearer but not beyond the wearers elbows with his arms raised above his head, and means to engage said chestband with a safety rope.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 634,604 Asche Oct. 10, 1899 1,193,374 Gilliam Aug. 1, 1916 1,690,720 Cosby Nov. 6, 1928 1,908,156 Kalish et al. May 9, 1933 2,109,188 Bajanova Feb. 22, 1938 

